Columns

As the Executive Director of the Montana Nonprofit Association, a membership association that supports more than 850 organization across the state, I’m dismayed by multiple recent incidents of political leaders and influencers casting local public charities across Montana as “dark money” groups and as organizations at the center of broader political flashpoints. The nonprofit sector functions on trust – trust from families and households that organizations will respond to needs, trust from funders and supporters that resources are being stewarded well, and trust from the broader community to recognize that nonprofits can and should lean into spaces where governmen...

A very good friend shared a written message regarding thoughts on aging with me. It was about growing old, but not feeling like you are growing old. It gave me pause to ponder. Your hair may be graying. Your skin thins and sags. Laugh lines - aka wrinkles -  provide evidence of the happiness you&rsqu...

News from Upper Seven Law HELENA — On June 13, 2024, a group of Montana voters responded to Senator Keith Regier’s unprecedented attempt to avoid discovery of documents related to partisan gerrymandering of the Public Service Commission (“PSC”). A district court previously held tha...

We have successfully kicked off our annual Summer Reading Program with over 100 attendees at our first program and 289 registrations on the first day. It’s not too late to register – you actually have until Aug. 10. Visit our website or stop in the library for details. We have wonderful incentive...

Having proudly served as former Secretaries of State in Montana, we understand how important democracy is to the people of our state. It’s not a matter of what side of the aisle you stand on – it’s a matter of what you value. Recently our state’s Supreme Court reaffirmed that Monta...

I write to encourage a call to action. We must immediately address the illegal immigration happening in Montana. I, as well as many Montanans have seen the numbers – fentanyl confiscation in Montana up by 20,000%, sex trafficking up by 116%, illegal immigration at our northern border up 597% with over ...

If there is one thing every business owner, rancher, and manager agrees on, it’s that if you don’t have good people, you don’t have much. And if there’s one thing Montanans (and, increasingly, outsiders) know, it’s how good our hunting and fishing opportunities generally are....

No one plans to date after 50, but you never know the details life will hand you: divorce, death of a spouse, boredom, aloneness - it all leads to one thing. You find yourself being half of a couple in a couple’s world. Such a conundrum. You were once half the age of 50 and probably a couple, now...

Montanans appreciate locally grown food, from vegetables to fresh-picked huckleberries, raw honey, and grass-fed beef. Can we say the same about our wood products? Your community would rally to keep a local rancher in business… won’t you do the same to keep a local sawmill in business?  ...

Last month the President of the Montana Senate established a select committee on Judicial Oversight and Reform. We were appointed to that committee along with Democrat and Republican legislators and members of the public. Before our first meeting, partisan attacks were leveled at the President and the commit...